The Decline of the Patriarchate of = Constantinople

Translators' Introduction

The anti-Orthodox career and statements of = the late=20 Patriarch Athenagoras, a sorry memory have been so striking that = they have=20 perhaps tended to obscure the fact that the apostasy of this one = man was=20 merely the culmination of a long and thorough departure process, = from the=20 Orthodox Faith of an entire Local Orthodox Church. The promise of = the new=20 Patriarch Demetrios to "follow upon the footsteps of our great=20 Predecessor...in pursuing Christian unity" and to institute = "dialogues"=20 with Islam and other non-Christian religions, while recognizing = "the holy=20 blessed Pope of Rome Paul VI, the first among equals within the = universal=20 Church of Christ" (Enthronement Address)-only confirms this = observation=20 and reveals the depths to which the Church of Constantinople has = fallen,=20 in our own day.

It should be noted that the title=20 "Ecumenical" was bestowed on the Patriarch of Constantinople as a = result=20 of the transfer of the capital of the Roman Empire to this city in the 4th century; the = Patriarch then=20 became the bishop of the city which was the center of the ecumene = or=20 civilized world. Lamentably, in the 20th century the once glorious = See of=20 Constantinople, having long since lost its earthly glory, has = cheaply=20 tried to regain prestige by entering on two new "ecumenical" = paths. It has=20 joined the "ecumenical movement," which is based on an = anti-Christian=20 universalized and imitation of apostate = Rome, it has striven to subject the other = Orthodox=20 Churches to itself and make of its Patriarch a kind of Pope of=20 Orthodoxy.

The following article, which is = part of a=20 report on all the Autocephalous Churches made by Archbishop John = to the=20 Second All Diaspora Sobor of the Russian Church Abroad held in=20 Yugoslavia in 1938, gives the historical background = of the=20 present state of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It could well = have=20 been written today, nearly 35 years later, apart from a few small = points=20 which have changed since then, not to mention the more spectacular = "ecumenical" acts and statements of the Patriarchate in recent = years.=20 These have served to change it from the "pitiful spectacle" = described=20 here, into one of the leading world centers of=20 anti-Orthodoxy.

The primacy among Orthodox = Churches is=20 possessed by the Church of the New Rome, Constantinople, which is headed by a Patriarch who has = the title of=20 Ecumenical, and therefore, is called the Ecumenical Patriarchate, = which=20 territorially reached the culmination of its development at the = end of the=20 18th century. At that time, there was included the whole of Asia = Minor,=20 the whole Balkan Peninsula (except for Montenegro), together with = the=20 adjoining islands, since the other independent Churches in the = Balkan=20 Peninsula had been abolished and had become part of the Ecumenical = Patriarchate. The Ecumenical Patriarch had received from the = Turkish=20 Sultan, even before the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, the title of Millet Barb, = the head of=20 the people, and he was considered the head of the whole Orthodox=20 population of the Turkish=20 Empire. This, = however, did=20 not prevent the Turkish government from removing patriarchs for = any reason=20 whatever and calling for new elections and collecting a large tax = from the=20 newly elected patriarch. Apparently, this tax collection had a = great=20 significance in the changing of patriarchs by the Turks. = Therefore, it=20 often happened that they again allowed a patriarch whom they had = removed,=20 to return to the Patriarchal Throne, after the death of one or = several of=20 his successors. Thus, many patriarchs occupied their see several = times,=20 and each accession was accompanied by the collection of a special = tax from=20 them by the Turks.

In order to make up the sum that = he paid on=20 his accession to the Patriarchal Throne, a patriarch made a = collection=20 from the metropolitans subordinate to him, and they, in their = turn,=20 collected from the clergy subordinate to them. This manner of = making up=20 its finances left an imprint on the whole order of the = Patriarchate's=20 life. In the Patriarchate, there was also evident the Greek "Great = Idea,"=20 to attempt to restore Byzantium, at first in a cultural, but later in a = political=20 sense. For this reason in all important posts there were assigned = people=20 loyal to this idea, and for the most part Greeks from the part of=20 Constantinople called the Phanar, where also the = Patriarchate was=20 located. Almost always, the episcopal sees were filled by Greeks, = even=20 though in the Balkan=20 Peninsula the = population was=20 primarily Slavic.

At the beginning of the 19th = century, there=20 began a movement, of liberation among the Balkan peoples, who were = striving to liberate themselves from the authority of the Turks. = There=20 arose the states of Serbia, Greece, Rumania, and Bulgaria, at = first=20 semi-independent, and then completely independent from Turkey. = Parallel=20 with this, was the formation of new Local Churches, which were = separate=20 from the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Even though it was unwillingly, = under=20 the influence of circumstances, the Ecumenical Patriarchs = permitted the=20 autonomy of the Churches in the vassal princedoms. Later, they = recognized=20 the full independence of the Churches in Serbia, Greece and = Rumania. Only=20 the Bulgarian question was complicated in view on the one hand of = the=20 impatience of the Bulgarians, who had not yet attained political=20 independence and on the other hand, thanks to the unyieldingness = of the=20 Greeks. The self-willed declaration of Bulgarian autocephaly on = the=20 foundation of a firinan of the Sultan was not recognized by the=20 Patriarchate, and in a number of dioceses there was established a = parallel=20 hierarchy.

The boundaries of the newly formed = Churches=20 coincided with the boundaries of the new states, which were = growing all=20 the time at the expense of Turkey, at the same time acquiring new = dioceses=20 from the Patriarchate. Nonetheless, in 1912, when the Balkan War = began,=20 the Ecumenical Patriarchate had about 70 metropolias and several=20 bishoprics. The war of 1912-13 tore away from Turkey a significant = part of=20 the Balkan Peninsula with such great spiritual centers as Salonica = and=20 Athos. The Great War of 1914-18 for a time deprived Turkey of the = whole of=20 Thrace and the Asia Minor coast with the city of Smyrna, which = were=20 subsequently lost by Greece in 1922, after the unsuccessful march = of the=20 Greeks on Constantinople.

Here the Ecumenical Patriarch = could not so=20 easily release from his authority the dioceses that had been torn = away=20 from Turkey, previously. There was talk concerning certain places = which in=20 the past, had been under the spiritual authority of = Constantinople.=20 Nonetheless, the Ecumenical Patriarch in 1922 recognized the = annexation to=20 the Serbian Church of all areas within the boundaries of = Yugoslavia; he=20 agreed to the inclusion within the Church of Greece of a number of = dioceses in the Greek State, preserving, however, his jurisdiction = over=20 Athos. In 1937, he even recognized the autocephaly of the small = Albanian=20 Church, which originally he had not = recognized.

The boundaries of the Ecumenical=20 Patriarchate and the number of its dioceses had significantly = decreased.=20 At the same time, the Ecumenical Patriarchate in fact lost=20 Asia=20 Minor also, = although it=20 remained within its jurisdiction. In accordance with the peace = treaty=20 between Greece and = Turkey in 1923, there occurred an exchange of = population=20 between these powers, so that the whole Greek population of=20 Asia=20 Minor had to = resettle in=20 Greece. Ancient cities, having at one time a = great=20 significance in ecclesiastical matters and glorious in their = church=20 history, remained without a single inhabitant of the Orthodox = faith. At=20 the same time, the Ecumenical Patriarch lost his political = significance in=20 Turkey, since Kemal Pasha deprived him of his = title of head=20 of the people. Actually, now, under the Ecumenical Patriarch, = there are=20 five dioceses within the boundaries of=20 Turkey, in addition to Athos with the surrounding = places in=20 Greece. The Patriarch is extremely hindered in = the=20 manifestation of his indisputable rights in church government = within the=20 boundaries of Turkey, where he is viewed as an ordinary Turkish=20 subject-official, being furthermore, under the supervision of the=20 government. The Turkish government, which interferes in all = aspects of the=20 life of its citizens, only as a special privilege has permitted = him, as=20 well as the Armenian Patriarch, to wear long hair and ecclesiastic = garments, forbidding this to the rest of the clergy. The Patriarch = has no=20 right of free exit from Turkey, and lately the government is ever = more=20 insistently pursuing his removal to the new capital of Ankara (the = ancient=20 Ancyra), where there are now no Orthodox Christians, but where the = administration with all the branches of governmental life is=20 concentrated.

[Such an outward abasement] of the hierarchy = of the=20 city of St. Constantine, which was once the capital of the = ecumene, has=20 not caused reverence toward him to be shaken among Orthodox = Christians,=20 who revere the See of Sts. Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian. = From the=20 height of this See the successor of St. John and Gregory could = spiritually=20 guide the whole Orthodox world, if only he possessed their = firmness in the=20 defense of righteousness and truth and the breadth of views of the = recent=20 Patriarch Joachim III. However, to the general decline of the = Ecumenical=20 Patriarchate there has been joined the direction of its activity = after the=20 Great War. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has desired to make up for = the loss=20 of dioceses which have left its, jurisdiction, as well as, the = loss of its=20 political significance within the boundaries of Turkey, by = submitting to=20 itself areas where up to now there has been no Orthodox hierarchy, = and=20 likewise the Churches of those states where the government is not=20 Orthodox. Thus, on April 5, 1922, Patriarch Meletius designated an = Exarch=20 of Western and Central Europe with the title of Metropolitan of = Thyatira=20 with residency in London; on March 4, 1923, the same Patriarch = consecrated=20 the Czech Archimandrite Sabbatius Archbishop of Prague and All=20 Czechoslovakia; on April 15, 1924, a Metropolia of Hungary and All = Central=20 Europe was founded with a See in Budapest, even though there was = already a=20 Serbian bishop there. In America, an Archbishopric was established = under=20 the Ecumenical Throne; then in 1924 a Diocese was established in = Australia=20 with a See in Sydney. In 1938, India was made subordinate to the=20 Archbishop of Australia.

At the same time, there has = proceeded the=20 subjection of separate parts of the Russian Orthodox Church, which = have=20 been torn away from Russia. Thus, on June 9, = 1923, the Ecumenical Patriarch accepted into = his=20 jurisdiction the Diocese of Finland as an autonomous=20 Finnish Church; on August 23,=20 1923, the=20 Estonian Church was made subject in the same way; on=20 November 13, 1924, Patriarch Gregory VII recognized the = autocephaly of=20 the Polish Church under the supervision of the Ecumenical=20 Patriarchate-that is, rather autonomy. In March 1936, the = Ecumenical=20 Patriarch accepted Latvia into his jurisdiction. Not limiting = himself to the=20 acceptance into his jurisdiction of Churches in regions which had = fallen=20 away from the borders of Russia, Patriarch Photius accepted into = his=20 jurisdiction Metropolitan Eulogius in Western Europe together with = the=20 parishes subordinate to him, and on February 28, 1937, an = Archbishop of=20 the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch in America = consecrated Bishop=20 Theodore-Bogdan Shpilko for a Ukrainian Church in North=20 America

Thus, the Ecumenical Patriarch has = become=20 actually "ecumenical" [universal] in the breadth of the territory = which is=20 theoretically subject to him. Almost the whole earthly globe, = apart from=20 the small territories of the three Patriarchates and the=20 territory of Soviet = Russia, according to the idea of the = Patriarchate's=20 leaders, enters the composition of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. = Increasing=20 without limit their desires to submit to themselves parts of=20 Russia, the Patriarchs of Constantinople have = even begun to=20 declare the uncanonicity of the annexation of=20 Kiev to the Moscow Patriarchate, and to declare = that the=20 previously existing southern Russian Metropolia of Kiev should be = subject=20 to the Throne of Constantinople. Such a point of view is not only = clearly=20 expressed in the Tomos of November 13,=20 1924, in connection = with the=20 separation of the Polish Church, but is also quite thoroughly promoted by = the=20 Patriarchs. Thus, the Vicar of Metropolitan Eulogius in Paris, who = was=20 consecrated, with the permission of the Ecumenical Patriarch, has = assumed=20 the title of Chersonese; that is to say, Chersonese, which is now = in the=20 territory of Russia, is subject to the Ecumenical Patriarch. = The next=20 logical step for the Ecumenical Patriarchate would be to, declare = the=20 whole of Russia as being under the jurisdiction of=20 Constantinople.

However, the actual spiritual = might and even=20 the actual boundaries of authority by far do not correspond to = such a=20 self-aggrandizement of Constantinople. Not to mention the fact that almost = everywhere the=20 authority of the Patriarch is quite illusory and consists for the = most=20 part in the confirmation of bishops who have been elected to = various=20 places or the sending of such from Constantinople, many lands = which=20 Constantinople considers subject to itself do not have any flock = at all=20 under its jurisdiction.

The moral authority of the = Patriarchs of=20 Constantinople has likewise fallen very low in view of their = extreme=20 instability in ecclesiastical matters. Thus, Patriarch Meletius IV = arranged a "Pan-Orthodox Congress," with representatives of = various=20 churches, which decreed the introduction of the New Calendar. This = decree,=20 recognized only by a part of the Church, introduced a frightful = schism=20 among Orthodox Christians. Patriarch Gregory VII recognized the = decree of=20 the council of the Living Church concerning the deposing of Patriarch = Tikhon, whom=20 not long before this the Synod of Constantinople had declared a=20 "confessor," and then he entered into communion with the = "Renovationists"=20 in Russia, which continues up to = now.

In sum, the Ecumenical = Patriarchate, in=20 theory embracing almost the whole universe and in fact extending = its=20 authority only over several dioceses, and in other places having = only a=20 higher superficial supervision and receiving certain revenues for = this;=20 persecuted by the government at home and not supported by any = governmental=20 authority abroad; having lost its significance as a pillar of = truth and=20 having itself become a source of division, and at the same time, = being=20 possessed by an exorbitant love of power-represents a pitiful = spectacle=20 which recalls the worst periods in the history of the See of=20 Constantinople.

The Nativity of St. John the = Baptist=20

About the Apostles Peter and = Paul=20

Some Short Theological = Writings=20
A Hymn to God=20
Will These Human Bones Come to = Life?=20
The Cross Preserves the = Universe=20
The Church's Prayer=20
The Russian Diaspora=20
The Meaning of "Anathema"=20
The Decline of the Patriarchate of Constantinople=20
About the Typicon =

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